Not Too Young
by luna-ish
Summary: -"Good riddance to you too, Aizen." She finally returns to Soul Society.
1. Prologue

Prologue

_I__ may seem like an enemy. But am I really?_

_I may seem like a__ friend. But am I really?_

_I may seem like a__ normal kid. But am I really?_

_I may seem__ defenseless. But am I really?_

_I__ may seem like I can be trusted. But would you really?_


	2. Chapter One

Chapter one

All the wonderful memories came pouring back.

She placed her palm on the invisible barrier. The gate wall had materialized days ago when the ryoka had tried to break in. The gate guardian was also in the process of healing, so it wasn't a surprise that no one had arrived to prevent her from breaking in. _Maybe the situation inside is really chaotic. Or maybe they don't think I'll be able to enter through the barrier. _She liked to think it was the latter.

"The Seireitei," She closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the cool calm air. The wind swept through the brown mantle that flapped behind her. She looked down at the brooch that held it in place. _Oh yeah… I've got to remember to thank her. _She could feel warmth spreading all the way to the tips of her fingertips and the end of her feet. "It's great to be back."

The invisible barrier around her palm turned a glow of orange, and as if it were melting, her hands went right through it. _I'm so glad they didn't change it though they knew it was possible for one to break in. It would've been troublesome if they did. _She paused and turned to the little boy who had frozen to the ground in shock ever since he looked up to find her standing in mid-air above the deathstone walls. She smiled at him.

"See you soon little one."

The instant she was on the inside of the barrier, ryoka alerts could be heard sounding everywhere. _They've gotten much faster at this. Now, where should I go? _She didn't want random shinigami charging at her from all directions with zanpakutos, and she needed a flat empty space. With a sweep of her hand, the brooch sucked the mantle into its opening and disappeared. She landed on the ground without making a sound, smirk flashed across her face, and she sped off, knowing exactly where she was going to go. She came to a halt right in the middle of a training ground that the Stealth Force often used. _At least I know who's coming to 'welcome' me._ Sure enough, one by one, the Executive Militia appeared, forming a circle around her. Their captain stood facing her, an annoyed expression on her face.

"You're surrounded girl. Give it up."

The ryoka looked around at her and smirked.

"You sure… Soifon?"

The eyes of the 2nd Division Captain sprang into alert and a moment later, she frowned.

* * *

**_Soifon_**

"Go back. The intruder's on your grounds."

"Yoruichi-sama!"

"I can handle it! Go back and go to the Sōkyoku Hill once you are done!"

"Yes! I'll try to be quick!"

She had wanted to fight along-side Yoruichi. It had only been hours that they had fought. _I had tried to kill her! What was I thinking? How could I do such a thing?_ She shook her head at her own disbelief. If she did indeed hit Yoruichi twice with Suzumebachi, she would never have had the chance to forgive her. _I'm going to get that ryoka. And fast. Yoruichi needs my help._

"Where is he?" She questioned the two Executive Militia who had just appeared by her sides.

"At the Stealth Force training grounds, captain. The Executive Militia has been sent ahead first."

"Alright, let's go."

When they arrived at the grounds, they could see the ryoka standing in the middle of the grounds. No one could have missed her. The ryoka was standing alone by herself, without a sword and without any sign of weapon. It was as if she had been waiting all the while for them to arrive.

"Soifon-taichou! What… what are your orders?"

"We'll surround her. Do not make any unnecessary attacks."

"Yes captain!"

One by one the Executive Militia surrounded the ryoka. The ryoka looked around at her hosts and smiled.

"You're surrounded girl. You can't escape. Give it up." The girl looked around straight at Soifon. _Her smirk. There's not even a trace of fear in her eyes. _

"How can you be so sure… _Soifon_?"

Soifon's eyes widened in shock. _How could she?! _There was a sudden burst of rieatsu and her eyes immediately sprang towards the Sōkyoku Hill. _What was going on?_

"Looks like it's started…"

Soifon turned her attention back to the girl who had just smile on the ryoka's face had disappeared, and she seemed to be concentrating on the rieatsu. _Who is she? How does she even know what's going on?_ She looked back at Soifon.

"I thought I had more time. Looks like I've to do this fast. Heard of the Flash Goddess?"

Soifon's heart stopped at the mention of her teachers' title. Before she could even blink, the ryoka had disappeared and a split second later she felt a sharp jab at the back of her neck. Before her body could adjust to the sudden movement, the ryoka was back in the centre of the circle. _What did she just do? My body feels as if it can't move! What was that? Such quick movement! I'm certain it's shunpo. But shunpo at such a fast rate! It's almost impossible!_

"Don't tell her. That Yoruichi."

2nd Division Captain caught a glimpse of the ryoka's smirk as she fell to the floor. Her legs were no longer able to support her body. Every single one of her comrades had also fallen to the ground, paralyzed. _What did she… How in the world did she get us all in that flash of time?_

The ryoka smiled as she looked towards the sky. To Soifon's shock, a large brooch with a familiar crest started to materialize onto the ryoka's shirt just above her heart. _The Shihouin Crest!_ _There's no mistaking it!_ The girl stationed her hand above it and with a swipe, she was in the air, a brown mantle with a large draw string closure at the collar flapping behind her. She turned in mid-air towards the Sōkyoku Hill.

"Don't worry Soifon. Your paralysis lasts only for an hour. Until then, I'll see you soon."

A blur of brown and she was gone. Soifon's mind was jam-packed with confusion.

"Tai-chou… are you… are you alright?" The executive militia beside her tried to reach out his hand to help her but he had been paralysed and his hand remained on the floor.

"It's alright. Just stay still. You're in the same condition as I am."

Soifon gazed at the clear bright sky. She knew she couldn't do anything to get her body back into movement. Suzumebachi wouldn't be of any help as it wasn't poison that paralyzed her entire body. It was just how the nerves in her body worked. _Who was that girl?_ It wasn't the fact that she didn't carry any weapon that sparked Soifon's curiosity and shock. It wasn't the fact that she was only a young girl, that she had no fear, that she could materialize objects. It was the fact, and only after she had left that Soifon had realized, that she couldn't sense any reiatsu coming from the girl the whole time.


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter two

**_Matsumoto_**

"Tai-chou… actually lost?"

Matsumoto Rangiku rushed to the Sōkyoku Hill the moment she heard Kotetsu Isane's emergency transmission. _How's it possible? Tai-chou… couldn't have lost! And Kira! What's with that expression on his face? It's as if he's shocked to hear that Hinamori is almost dead when he's on their side! Everything doesn't make sense!_

She half wanted to rush to the 46 chambers to make sure her captain was alive, but orders told her to get to the Sōkyoku Hill as fast as possible. She shunpo-ed all the way, leaving the just beaten Kira on the ground. Her thoughts, however, kept running towards an image of Hitsugaya Toushirou dripping with blood, worn out and beaten. _No. I mustn't lose it. Tai-chou's counting on me to do my part!_ She shook her head, trying to erase that image, but the sight of Gin charging up his power to attack Jidanbō Ikkanzaka swept it away immediately.

She sped up with extra force and grabbed onto his wrist, stopping the gathering of power. She swung her katana over his shoulder and held it in place beside his neck.

"Don't move. Please."

She could feel a wave of uncertainty flowing through her. After all, she and Gin were close friends since before they joined the academy. Holding a sword to the neck of a friend… was no easy task, Matsumoto had just realized.

"Sorry, Captain Aizen… She got me."

No sign of recognition, no gesture of friendship. Matsumoto had gotten used to his personality. She knew it wasn't as though he would say 'hi' when she was holding a sword against his neck. She gasped at the sight of renji, ichigo, and byakuya lying injured on the ground, and the weak rukia with her eyes wide open with trauma. Around her, others were also holding up swords against those they never thought they would.

Hisagi had to go up against his own captain, one who he had respected and trusted to such a high level. _It must be tough for him. All of us vice-captains look up to our captains with such a great respect that I would rather kill myself than to ever go up against Tai-chou._ Yoruichi was making sure Aizen didn't make a sudden move. _And we had all thought he was one of the most respectable captains ever._

"This is the end." She heard Yoruichi say. "Don't you sense it Aizen? You have been… completely surrounded."

Sure enough, they were suddenly surrounded by all the other captains and vice-captains. The name 'Aizen' was exclaimed through the crowd. Yoruichi broke the silence.

"It's over… Aizen." But instead of fear, Matsumoto saw a smirk run across his face. Yoruichi frowned.

"What? What's so funny Aizen?"

"Yeah…Sorry, but… it's time." Yoruichi's eyes widened at Aizen's words.

If she was a second too late to jump away, she would have been caught in the column of light that had just fallen onto Aizen. _Impossible… _ A hole appeared in the sky where the light had fallen from and huge white masks could be seen in the darkness. _MENOS GRANDE! _Shock fell on the faces of every single one of the shinigami who were present. Out of no where, another two columns of light fell from the sky. Matsumoto and Hisagi had barely escaped being captured in it when they jumped away, releasing their captives. Gin turned his head towards Matsumoto.

"Too bad… It would have been nice if my capture lasted a little longer… Farewell Rangiku. Sorry." That smirk that had just appeared on Gin's face was something Matsumoto was too familiar with. You never could tell his true feelings just by looking at his smile or his eyes, seeing that they were closed almost the whole time.

Everyone just stood there watching as the three captains were pulled towards the sky, knowing there was nothing they could do. All those who had fought against the menos knew that from the moment the beams came down, Aizen and the others were out of their reach.

The air was still and silent. No one moved, no one talked. Then Aizen did.

"Goodbye, Shinigami. And goodbye, Young ryoka. For a human… you are really interesting." Matsumoto looked to human boy who was lying on the ground only a few feet from her.

The three ex-captains were about to reach the hole in the sky when out of nowhere a beam of shimmer suddenly shot towards the Gillian in the sky like lightning and sliced through the masks of at least four of them, causing them to fade away in seconds.

"Good riddance to you too, Aizen." Everyone, including the three traitors, immediately turned towards the direction where the small voice came from. Matsumoto's eyes widened when she saw a girl who was poised in a landing, with her head bent down, back towards them all and one arm stretched out in parallel to the ground. She had landed so skillfully that Matsumoto thought she had just popped out from the ground.

"It was nice seeing you again." The hole in the sky banged shut at the girl's last word.

She stood up straight and turned towards all the suprised faces that looked her way. She wore an extremely serious look on her face. She had straight shoulder length black hair and had a green band across her forehead. She was in neutral-colored shorts and shirt. Matsumoto thought she looked like some archaeologist; and a really small one at that.

Her face switched from serious to sweet in a matter of seconds as the girl suddenly grinned and tucked a lock of black hair behind her ear.

"Now _that's_ what I call a dramatic entrance. And to think all of you just stood there like statues! I mean, you're gonna have to fight them in the end right? So why not just kill a few of first? Then you'll have _less_ when the war breaks out. Tsk." She shook her head disbelievingly. Everyone just stared at her like she was some weird girl and she immediately grasped the situation. _Who is she?_ The girl crossed her arms, pouted and frowned.

"Aw man. Are you telling me none of you actually remember me? I can't believe it! Was I that unnoticeable then?"

Something about that bold and naïve personality reminded Matsumoto of someone. She looked at the sweet and wide smile. A picture in the framed photograph that was on her captain's desk popped up suddenly in her mind. A photograph with three smiling kids, a white-haired boy and two black-haired girls. The picture with Hinamori on the left, Hitsugaya in the centre and… _No. It can't be! _

"Kir… KAJISAKI TAI-CHOU!"

Kirria Kajisaki grinned her widest as gasps ran through the crowd.

* * *

**I hope the first two chapters were okay...**

**anyway, just incase you found it confusing, the name (bolded/italics) that appears, before that part of the chapter actually starts, is the person thinking in italics for that whole part. I didnt want to say it was their point-of-view because I'm not exactly using the first person style of writing...**

**am i making things more confusing? hope not! haha... please review! :D**


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter three

**_Kirria_**

"Kajisaki tai-chou."

"Kajisaki tai-chou."

"Kajisaki tai-chou."

Kirria was greeted repeatedly as she walked down the corridors of the squad 10 barracks beside Matsumoto. _I guess they were immediately notified when someone saw us approaching the gates… They, of all people, couldn't have remembered me, these squad 10 shinigami._ She chuckled to herself. She hated it when everyone was addressing her so formally. She was just a kid! She wanted to be treated as a kid. Everyone looked at her like someone you should be afraid of. Sure, her trainings were tough. But she was only that serious during trainings and battles! _I can't blame them really. After all, they've been taught that small kids are not always the lousiest among them. The sight of their captain must have helped drill this reminder into their heads._ That thought made her realize that she hadn't seen the squad 10 captain and the squad 5 vice since she entered the Seireitei.

"Matsumoto, where's Toushirou and Momo anyway?"

"Taichou's in the squad four quarters. He's receiving treatment, he was badly injured in the fight against… ex-captain, Aizen… They told me he was in a semi-coma. Momo, however, is in a deep coma. It now depends on her will to wake up. Though they're not expecting that anytime soon, seeing how she must be traumatized that her favorite Captain attacked her. That's what I was informed… Kajisaki tai-chou." Kirria stopped and turned to face Matsumoto.

"From now on, you _will_ call me Kirria. Do you understand?"

"Uh… yes Kaj… Kirria. Though I hope you know it'll be impossible for me to call you that while we're in front of the Captain Commander, like when we were on the hill just now." Matsumoto grinned down at her.

"Yeah… But I'm not even an official captain! Why should I be treated like one?"

"You're surely Tai-chou's opposite, Kirria! He _never_ let's anyone call him by his name!" Matsumoto sighed and returned to normal self, the one who talked with laziness in her voice.

"All he ever does is to tell me to do paperwork, paperwork, and _more_ paperwork!" Kirria giggled as she remembered that Matsumoto was in the prestigious paperwork squad. It brought back memories of the times when Matsumoto had tried to con her into doing her share of paperwork as rent for the room they had to build for her.

"Since you left he's been more stern and strict, cause he doesn't have you to make him loosen up and smile… I'm so glad you're back! Everyone here has missed you so badly. You could practically feel the fun level drop since you left." Matsumoto reached out to give Kirria a big hug. Kirria smiled. She too felt glad that she was finally back.

"So… is my room still there?"

"Of course! Tai-chou wanted to made sure no one else but himself enters it so he sealed it up! He goes into it once in a while to help you clean it up, hoping you'll return one day." Matsumoto's happy expression turned into a questioning one when she saw the half sarcastic half angry look on Kirria's face.

"Doesn't that mean that if he's not around, I CAN'T GET INTO MY ROOM?!"

"Oh. Yeah. Wait--" Before Matsumoto could finish her sentence, Kirria had ran out of the squad 10 barracks and into the squad 4 quarters. She could see all the shocked faces of the squad 4 shinigami as a blur zoomed all the way down their corridor. She especially liked it when others feared her speed. It was a thrill. She went towards the increasing reiatsu of the little genius until she saw him lying on a bed in one of the private wards. She ran over, jumped onto the bed, and her hands found the warm neck of the 'iceman'.

"IDIOT! WAKE UP NOW! I won't have anywhere to sleep because YOU sealed my room up! I'll give you 3 seconds to open your eyes Hitsugaya Toushirou! Or I'm gonna blast down the whole squad 10 barracks! WAKE UP!"

"Err… Kajisaki-taichou… Hitsugaya Tai-chou's in a coma… He can't possibly res…" Kirria stopped shaking and strangling him to look over at the nurse who was cleaning up the ward. He stopped mid-sentence and fear showed in his eyes.

"I'm not _that_ dumb."

Matsumoto banged against the door in a slump and started panting deeply. Kirria and the nurse looked her way curiously._ No way... had she JUST reached!? _

"Kirria! I knew you had to be here!'

"Yeah… you missed out all the fun Matsu! What took you so long?"

"Aw… I'm not as fast as you are! Can you do it again?"

"Nah… not in the mood. Come on, let's go." She spotted Toushirou's sword sheath on the side table and frowned before walking out of the ward and down the corridor. Kirria buckled an invisible cord in place on her shoulder as Matsumoto caught up with her. She hadn't exactly meant what she had shouted at Toushirou. It was just an excuse to go and see the friend she had missed most when she was away, without letting anyone know that. _Hope you won't mind me borrowing this for awhile Toush._


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

_**Kirria**_

She looked up at the moon that shed light over the darken grounds and then to the blue-hilted sword that lay a metre away from her. Tears welled up in her eyes as she pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her hands around them. She had seen enough to know that she would never want to work with it ever. She buried her head in her knees, closing her eyes so that her sight was shut away in darkness. As she silently cried on, she slowly fell asleep.

"_ONEE-SAN!"_

_The monster threw her sister against the wall with he's long, clawed hand. She could see her sister slump on the floor, blood flowing from her head. Her tear filled eyes looked towards the laughing monster who slowly approached her, taunting her as he did. _

"_You're not going to escape now little girl. A year ago, you escaped the clutches of one of my comrades, but I'm glad you did because now I can have you! Your parents have gone on, and so has your sister. There's no one who's going to protect you now." _

_She held her pink rabbit closer to her and closed her eyes, burying her head in its soft pink material. He was right. Her heart screamed for help. But it didn't matter. She just wanted her sister. _

"_KIRRIA!"_

"_ARGH!" She looked up to find the monstrous creature bleeding from his gums, where a sword pierced into. Her eyes widened in fear as she looked around and realized that her 16 year old sister was crouched down on top of her, sword held on tight with her hands. There was something different about her sister though. Then she saw a chain hanging from the middle of her sister's chest. A chain that she had seen many times before. _

"_Kirria! I don't know where this sword came from but we're lucky it did. The next time he comes forward, we'll do it together. In it with me?" Kirria looked at her determined sister. She was always the one who was there for her; not her mother, not her father, but her sister. She watched as the monster raised his head and lunged at the pair. Her hands trembled as she reached towards the green hilt of the sword. _

"_Kirria!" The monster reached out to swipe at them as they scurried away from it. She couldn't will herself to touch the sword in time. She had accidentally let go of her rabbit and it landed at the monster's feet. He laughed and stepped on it, ripping it apart with he's sharp claws. _

"_SORA!" She screamed as the monster tore apart her rabbit, her best friend. Anger and sadness tore at her as she looked at Sora, who was now just a pile of cloth and wool. The monster lunged at them once more and this time she held the sword tightly and poured all her anger and grief into it. Her sister gasped as a beam of energy took the form of a blade and shot out of the sword, piercing through the mask of the monster. He screamed in pain and slowly disappeared on the spot. _

"Hey. Don't just sit on some random roof next time. It's pretty hard to find you especially since you don't have any reiatsu." Kirria woke up at the sudden voice and dried her tears on her sleeve before looking up. She was almost blinded when her eyes met bright white spikes that reflected the moonlight so brightly.

"TOUSHIROU! Wear a cap! You'll endanger everyone with that 'mirror' of yours!"

"It's Hitsugaya Tai-chou. And my hair is _not_ a mirror. The last person who insulted my hair is still lying unconscious in the squad 4 barracks."

"Oh well it sure is if you're gonna keep standing in direct moonlight. And you _can_ tell me what to call you, but that doesn't mean I will, _Toushirou_. Anyway, how come you woke up so soon? I thought you were in a coma!"

"A _semi_-coma. It's not like a guy would just lie still in bed when a friend he had missed a lot comes to visit him; but instead of getting a hug he ends up almost dying from her shaking and strangling and almost deaf from all her shouting. Even if I were dead, I would have jumped out of my grave to strangle you back."

"Now that's _such_ a pleasant thing to say to someone you haven't seen for about five years!" Hitsugaya gave her the evil eye.

"_Now now Kirria," Kya whispered as she embraced her sister in a tight hug. "Don't cry. The big bad monster is gone. We're safe. Shush… Don't cry._"

"And what _you_ did to the neck of a helpless patient you haven't seen in about five years was a _pleasant_ greeting huh." Kirria burst out laughing at his comment, desperately fighting back the scenes from her past. She couldn't let him see her cry. She was known as the one who made others smile, and she wasn't going to let her own stupid emotions ruin her reputation. _Don't cry._

"By the way," she pointed to the sword that was a metre away from her, "you can have your sword back. Just wanted to scare you a little when you woke up." She smiled brightly up at him.

"Well you sure did." He smiled as he thought of how the nurse in-charge had turned over the whole squad 4 barracks the moment the words 'where is my sword?' escaped from Hitsugaya's mouth. He slung his sword back over his shoulder and looked at Kirria.

"So now that I'm awake, do you want to unseal your room?"

"Not now…" Kirria buried her head back down into darkness. "I'm tired but I told myself I'm going to stay up and out tonight. Why don't you go back first? I'll see you tomorrow, Toush." She closed her eyes, wondering if he had left, hoping, _silently_ hoping, that he didn't realize she had started to cry herself to sleep.

* * *

well, if even a single person is reading this, please please try to give a review.

cause this girl is getting more and more unsure about continuing her story... please review!

it would be greatly appreciated!


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

_**Kirria**_

_The shredded curtains flapped as the wind blew through them, towards the __shivering pair of girls crouched down together in the middle of the torn apart room. The older of the two looked up just in time to see a blonde-haired man jump into their apartment through the open window. He glanced at them and back down at the ground._

"_I didn't make it in time." _

"_Who are you? Don't come near us." Kya frowned at him. She gripped her little sister even tighter._

"_I've come to send you on your way. You shouldn't be residing in the living world anymore. It's dangerous."_

"_On my way? On my way to where? I belong here. My sister doesn't have anyone else. My parents they… my parents--" _

"_-are already on their way to the Soul Society. And that's where you need to go too. If you stay here, you'll get hunted down by another hollow like the one just now. Or you might even become one of them. Soul Society is a wonderful place, I can assure you. I've been there myself."_

"_Wait. What are you saying? You…You're dead too?" Kya's eyes widened as she slowly let go of her sister._

"_I'm a Shinigami. And if it makes it any simpler to understand, yes, I'm dead. Well sort of. Anyway, when you go to Soul Society, it'll be like living a normal life, just a longer one. So don't fret. If you hope to arrive in the same place as your parents, you might want to hurry on." _

"_But I…" Kya turned to look at her little sister. Kirria was teary-eyed as she toddled over to her shredded bunny, picked it up and whispered, "Sora, don't cry. Kiri's here." Kya turned back to the stranger. She didn't know him, but something about him made her feel like she could trust him. _

"_But I can't leave my sister on her own! There's no one to fend for her! And she's so little! I can't…" Kya broke down into tears again. The stranger's eyes traveled from the little toddler to the sword that lay not far away._

"_Tell me one thing. Where did that sword come from?" Kya looked up at the sudden question and glanced at the sword. _

"_It… it came out of nowhere. It felt… felt as if I pulled it out from thin air. And when Kirria touched it, the sword glowed and pierced through the creature! I'm… I'm sorry. I must sound crazy right now. But I really saw it happen!" _

_The blonde man frowned._

"_If it'll make you feel better," He turned to look face to face at the crying teenager. "I will personally make sure your sister grows up well, and safe."  
_

Kirria turned on her side and felt the soft material sink under her head. She frowned. Her eyes sprang wide open just to close them back again. She had a feeling the bright light had just half-blinded her. She pushed herself up to a sitting position and squinted at her surroundings. Green walls, white furniture, blue sheets. She sighed and was about to go back under the bedcover when she heard someone knock silently at her door. She squinted at Matsumoto as she made her way into the room without an invite, tiptoeing and closing the door silently. She turned around and saw the half-awaken face of Kirria, jumped, and dropped all the clothes she had in her hands at that moment.

"Kir-Kirria! I'm so sorry. I expected you to be asleep." She bent down quickly and picked up the clothes, talking continuously. "Here's the shihakushō Captain asked me to pass to you. If you're tired, go ahead and sleep some more! You don't need to get up now!" She set the clothes on the desk and fled out of the room in a second. _Am I that scary when I'm half-awake? _Kirria had been told she had a bad-temper when woken up, but she hadn't thought anyone would react like Matsumoto did.

She got up and walked to the stack of freshly ironed clothes. She picked up the white kosode and sash and put them aside. She held the hunter-green kimono and hakama to her face and expected to breathe in memories, but instead she started choking as she put them back down. _Since when did the Squad 10 start using floral scented detergent?_ She looked around the table for the other thing that had been significant to her since she could remember. Not that she had a lot to remember, she was only 12.

"Looking for this?" Kirria turned sharply towards her door. A certain white-haired captain was standing at her doorway, holding up a gleaming armband which carried _her_ symbol of an all-rounder.

She rushed forward and took it into her hands as Hitsugaya smiled at her eagerness. She traced her fingers over the pattern of the sun, wind, water, and fire.

"I finally get to have the _real_ one in my hands again!"

"The real one?"

"Yep! I made a fake one in the real world to remind me that I was going to come back here again. Well, let me tell you the fake one didn't look as good. Thanks for taking such good care of my stuff too, Toush."

"No Toush. Its Hitsugaya Tai-chou."

"Hey! Lets be fair here! You can call me Kirria, I can call you Toush!"

"I'll let you off today, only because you _need_ to get changed now. The whole Shinigami court is waiting to hear your report on where you were the past six years."

"Why do I need to report to them? It's not like they own me. I have my own life."

"Since the time you became an unofficial captain, you're part of this team. Your life is as much as theirs as it is yours. You can't back out now. Get changed, put on your armband, and report to the main meeting room immediately. One advice, don't keep them waiting. Impatience will lend you no help." He shut the door behind him as he finished his last words.

Kirria sighed and put her hand up to head, hopelessly trying to push the memory of her past out of her head.

_The blonde man bent down to face the sobbing toddler. He smiled at her when she looked curiously at him with her large twinkling eyes._

"_Little Kirria, you're going to grow up well in my care. I promised your sister you're going to be safe."_

Sometimes Kirria wondered what his definition of 'safe' had been.


	7. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

_**Kirria**_

"Ahhhh… A week has passed since Aizen's betrayal and they seem to have moved on well, these shinigami." Kirria chuckled as she walked past the 4th Division's General Medical Facility. She could hear guys with deep voices insisting that they were healed and refusing to listen the 4th Division shinigami. _They must be from the 11__th__ Division._

She looked up at the blue sky and began to think back about her past seven days in Soul Society. Time passed way too fast. It was already six days ago that she had been called to report to the Shinigami court. _What do THEY know... It was such a waste of time. _She sighed.

"_Kirria Kajisaki, where have you been residing after you left Soul Society without permission on the 24__th__ of December 6 years ago?"_

"_In the living world."_

"_Where? Specifically?"_

"_The EARTH. Ask me again and I'm refusing to answer anymore questions."_

"_Then, Kirria Kajisaki. Please explain why your reiatsu was unable to be detected even on... earth?"_

"_Can you sense my reiatsu now?"_

"_No."_

"_Then why bother to ask? No one's been able to sense my reiatsu in the first place. How would you be able to detect it?" The shinigami in charge of asking her the questions was obviously put in a spot. Just when he was about to go on to the next question, Yamamoto waved his hand stop him, and looked Kirria straight in the eyes._

"_Kirria Kajisaki, please cooperate with us and stop trying to escape telling the truth." Kirria did not divert her gaze. _

_She didn't feel like she had done anything wrong to be questioned in front of all the captains like this. She didn't understand why they had to care so much about what she had been doing. Wasn't it good enough that she had came back? It made her feel like she had been the one who had betrayed everyone and ran away to Hueco Mundo._

_She slumped in her seat and looked away from Yamamoto's accusing eyes. _

"_Just because the one who betrayed you ran away doesn't mean you should start questioning me like that just to try and fulfill your desire for answers. I'm not the one you really want to question am I." It was almost a whisper, but was loud enough for everyone in the pin-drop silent room to hear. All the captains looked at Yamamoto for his reaction and were surprised to see that he wasn't angered. _

"_Meeting's over. You may leave."_

"_I wasn't planning on staying anyway." Kirria got out of her seat and left the court. Yamamoto's gaze was still fixed on her but she didn't even once look at him as she left._

And since then, the two of them had been having a cold war. Yamamoto hadn't called her back for another questioning, and she had no desire to answer any of his questions anyway.

She looked around at her surroundings. _Sigh, once again I'm so lost in recollection that I've subconsciously walked into this forest and didn't realize it. Kirria! You've got to wake up! You could end up in places you don't want to go! Like Yamamoto's headquarters! No no no no no no… Better wake up._ She left the forest trail and walked into the dense trees. She didn't need a path to guide her to the river.

Sure enough, she soon broke out of the dense trees onto the river bank. It was nostalgic. The water rippled softly down the pebble-filled river, and the trees, well, she could almost remember every single tree in that area. How many times had she visited this place to think back on things, to seek comfort, just to stare at the sky? Too many times to count.

She sat down in the shade underneath a tree and leaned back on its trunk. She closed her eyes.

She'd found this river since she first stepped in Soul Society. Even after she'd entered the Sereitei, she always visited the river in the middle of the night and fell asleep there. Hitsugaya and Matsumoto always lectured her for running off and not being in bed when they went to wake her up. She knew they were concerned but never told them where she had gone.

That is, until that one time when she invited Hitsugaya into this comfort zone of hers. Momo was busy helping her Captain with work and was unable to join them. With the two of them alone, they opened up easily to one another, spending that entire night sitting on the river bank and sharing about their experiences. He was a friend she could entrust her secrets to, and she was a friend he could entrust his secrets to. _That's when he told me about what had happened. Then the next day, I left._

"I wonder if he ever blamed himself, for telling me his past, only to see me leaving the very next day."

"Who?"

Kirria's eyes jerked open at the girl's voice, and she pushed herself upright immediately. She looked to her left and saw Kuchiki Rukia looking at her from behind the same tree.

"Ru-ru-Rukia! What are you doing here?" Rukia laughed.

"I've been sitting here since early morning! I didn't even notice you came until you spoke! When did you get here?"

"Just. How come you know this place too?"

"Found it a year or two ago. You?"

"Six years ago. So I'm its original founder!" Rukia smiled.

"Then I guess that can't be helped! You own the place." The two girls burst out laughing.

"Say, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be helping your Nii-san, while he's recuperating?"

"He's got Renji to help him. I just came here to think about… stuff."

Kirria looked at Rukia and sensed sadness and confusion in her eyes. She had an inkling feeling she knew exactly what Rukia was troubled about. But she knew she couldn't just say it straight out to Rukia. Ukitake Tai-chou had told her how sensitive Rukia was regarding this issue that involved Shiba Kaien, and had warned her never to mention it in front of Rukia. From what Kirria had heard about this Kaien guy, he seemed like someone Kirria would have really liked to meet. Kirria smiled and turned to look at the blue sky as she spoke.

"I'm not sure exactly what you're troubled about, and I know I'm not someone who should be saying this but, sometimes, you just have to go out there and say it. The longer you hold back what you actually have to say, the harder it gets to do it." Kirria turned to look at Rukia who was staring at her with surprise. _Oh no… Don't tell me she suspects that I know all about the incident!_ Rukia suddenly broke into laughter.

"I think I should be the one telling you that! When are you going to tell the whole Shinigami Court about what happened during your absence?"

"Aish… Don't bring it up please… Well, I'm heading back to the Seireitei first. See you around Rukia!" Kirria stood up and began walking back into the forest.

"Hai. And Kirria," Kirria stopped in her tracks and turned around, looking at the back of Rukia.

"Thanks for your… advice." Kirria smiled widely at Rukia's words and walked into the forest. She looked forward to the next time she'd meet Rukia, to see her worry-free face, after Rukia had lifted the burden she'd been carrying for so long. _Looks like the Shiba's will be having a very important visitor today_.

Kirria smiled as she broke out of the forest and onto the forest trail.


End file.
